Winners Aren’t Grinners questions whether winning a war can ever be more than a hollow victory.
Three sections bound together with Japanese cord. Section covers are Kraft paper and tracing paper; text is on white stock. Illustrated with six monotypes.
The text comprises statistics from wars in which Japan and Australia (as a member of “the Allied Forces”) fought, the names of some soldiers who died, and copies of photographs and newspaper cuttings.
- Russo-Japanese War casualties: 85,000 Japanese
- World War I casualties: 822,000 Allies
- Second Sino-Japanese War casualties: 1,000,000 Japanese
- World War II casualties: 1,740,000 Japanese
- World War II casualties: 750,566 Allies,
- Korean War casualties: 46,970 Allies
- Vietnam War casualties : 58,220 Allies
- War in Iraq casualties: 3,890 Allies
Japan lost WWII and hasn’t had a war casualty since; the victors, on the other hand, just keep on losing lives.
The illustrations are semi-abstract monotypes depicting the horror of war and the Torii of the Itsukushima Shrine outside Hiroshima.
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The War in Iraq figure is from 2007 when the book was made. All statistics are from public war records.
Tags: 2009, artists book, exhibition, monotype, unique
Winners Aren't Grinners
Artists book
Editon: Unique book with six monotypes
Anne-Marie Yee ( 2008 )